


Because a circle has no sides

by Woldy



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: Character of Color, Drinking Games, First Kiss, Foursome, Foursome - F/F/M/M, Multi, OT4, POV Female Character, Polyamory, Truth or Dare, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-28
Updated: 2009-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-05 09:06:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Woldy/pseuds/Woldy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which there’s a thoroughly unsubtle plot device, a lot of kissing & Morgana has a plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because a circle has no sides

**Author's Note:**

> This occurs around the end of Merlin Season 1. Inspired by the prompt ‘drinking games’ in oxoniensis’ Porn Battle VII, but the fic was both late and way too long to fit in a comment. Many thanks to the fabulous [](http://glass-icarus.livejournal.com/profile)[**glass_icarus**](http://glass-icarus.livejournal.com/) for betaing this fic and to [](http://briar-pipe.livejournal.com/profile)[**briar_pipe**](http://briar-pipe.livejournal.com/) for prodding me into finishing &amp; posting it.

Perhaps none of it would’ve happened if Morgana hadn’t been having odd dreams that she refused to describe to anyone, but which had caused her to give Merlin funny looks for days. It probably wouldn’t have happened if Arthur hadn’t sat through a particularly boring ceremonial dinner - it wasn’t that he’d drunk too much exactly, but he’d drunk enough that the desire to do something fun and rebellious was visible on his face.

Merlin hadn’t decided on his own excuse yet, but perhaps it was sufficient that he was there when Morgana came in like a whirlwind, hopped onto the corner of Arthur’s bed and tossed a [sack] of wine beside her.

“Truth or dare,” she said, eyes gleaming with challenge. “If you’re man enough.”

“You can’t just flounce into my bedroom,” Arthur protested with all the arrogance he could muster, and it probably would have degenerated into their usual two-cats-in-a-sack dynamic if Morgana hadn’t turned to Merlin and said, “You’re not afraid, are you?”

“Of course not,” Merlin said, and Arthur shot him the I’ll deal with you later look.

“Get off my bed,” Arthur ordered, as Morgana gave him a smile like honeyed poison.

“Isn’t this where I’m supposed to end up if your father gets his way?”

Arthur turned the colour of a nasty sunburn. “That’s really not the-”

“Shut up, Arthur, or Merlin and I will play without you.”

So that was how Merlin found himself sitting on the corner of Arthur’s ridiculously large bed as Arthur reluctantly answered a question about his most embarrassing moment. Which was a story that Morgana had already told Merlin, as it happened, but it was fun to watch Arthur squirm as he recounted it.

Arthur had reached the part about his lack of any clothing, even socks, when there was a knock on the door.

“Enter,” Arthur called with a tone of relief.

“I was wondering if you’d seen Mor-” Gwen said and her eyes widened as she saw them all on the bed. “I’ll just, um-”

“Come in, Gwen, we’re only talking,” Morgana said, shifting sideways to make space on the bed between herself and Merlin. Gwen looked nervous, so Merlin thought it was the softness in Morgana’s voice that persuaded her to act on the invitation.

Everything got gradually messier and more revealing as the sack of wine was consumed, until Arthur accepted a ridiculous dare for tomorrow in order to avoid identifying the person he fancied.

Morgana looked disappointed at the lack of information, and turned to Merlin.

“Have you ever had sex?”

“You don’t have to answer that, of course,” Gwen said immediately.

“I don’t want to embarrass you ladies with my tales of conquest,” Merlin replied in what he thought was a jaunty tone.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Merlin,” Arthur said dismissively.

“I’m not being ridiculous,” Merlin protested, “it’s not as though I didn’t have a life before coming here and-”

“Well none of us have that sort of life,” said Morgana dryly. “I can’t do anything that might get me pregnant and Arthur can’t do anything which might leave someone else pregnant. I suppose Gwen could, but perhaps she’s too loyal to me to run off and marry someone.”

Merlin saw Gwen blush and it was partly the impulse to spare her the embarrassment of Morgana noticing which prompted him to say “That leaves plenty of options.”

Everyone stared at him.

“You’d know would you?” Arthur asked.

“That’s a more convincing yes,” Morgana said, sounding amused. Her tone was only partly malicious when she turned to Arthur and said “How does it feel to be less of a man than your manservant?”

Arthur narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Tell me about your most frightening dream.”

“No,” Morgana replied instantly.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. ”No? Then you have to take a dare and I dare you to kiss Gwen.”

Morgana’s chin lifted at the challenge and she whirled to face Gwen, reaching out to rest two fingers at the hollow beneath Gwen’s ear.

There was a moment of hesitation where Morgana gave Gwen the opportunity to move away and Gwen didn’t. The Morgana leaned close and they were kissing, Morgana’s eyelids fluttering closed. Merlin found himself mesmerised by the tilt of their heads and the way their bodies inclined together. One of them made a soft throaty noise and Gwen seemed to draw nearer to Morgana, like a plant reaching towards the sun.

Arthur coughed noisily and Merlin realised suddenly that he was staring, dragged his gaze away and stared fixedly at his feet. He knew from the shift of the mattress and rustle of Morgana’s skirt when they had stopped.

“Gwen, who here would you kiss given the choice?” Morgana asked with a smile.

“You’re all lovely,” Gwen said in a rush, “I would be flattered to kiss any of you, so I’m not going to pick favourites.”

When Merlin looked up he thought there was a hint of triumph on Arthur’s face, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Then both Merlin and Morgana started to speak at once.

“Who would you -”

“So, have you ever -”

“Tell me yours and we’ll pick,” Morgana demanded, and they combined the two questions to produce, “who here would you fuck, given the choice?”

Arthur looked shocked for a moment and then his Prince mask slid smoothly back into place. Merlin thought the real answer was ‘Gwen’, but guessed that Arthur wouldn’t say so for fear of embarrassing her. Responding ‘Morgana’ might seem like a compliment to her, which Arthur would never do willingly. Which left -

“Merlin. I don’t respect him anyway, so there’ll be no doubts in the morning.”

Merlin gave Arthur an offended look because, well, he’d been insulted and had no idea how else to respond to the suggestion that Arthur, the Crown Prince and royal prat, wanted to fuck him.

Arthur looked blankly back, his face revealing nothing about how the remark should be interpreted.

“Merlin,” Morgana said, disrupting his thoughts and the exchange of glances with Arthur. “What’s your biggest secret?”

Merlin, understandably, panicked. What if she _knew_? What if she knew and wanted him to tell Arthur? Or she knew and wanted him to refuse, in which case there would be some horrible dare that he couldn’t refuse and -

“Dare,” he said abruptly.

“I dare you to kiss Arthur,” said Gwen mischievously, looking at him sideways from underneath her dark lashes, and Merlin’s heart skipped a beat.

“Don’t you -”Arthur threatened, raising a hand.

“Dare?” Merlin interjected, grinning. “I have to, I’ve agreed. Just lie back and think of Camelot.”

Merlin expected to be pushed away, but Arthur didn’t move. He grasped Arthur’s shoulders - which he’d done a hundred times - and leaned in towards Arthur’s mouth - which of course he hadn’t. Their stubble brushed together and it felt incredibly awkward as Merlin mouthed tentatively against Arthur’s lower lip.

“Can’t you do anything properly?” Arthur murmured, and then kissed him. Arthur’s mouth was hot and hungry, and Merlin whimpered inadvertently when Arthur’s tongue slid against his own, rising desire drowning out his nervousness. Merlin’s fingers were gripping Arthur’s shirt too hard as he pulled Arthur closer, all hard muscle and the faintest scent of musky sweat, and he would happily have done this forever apart from the fact that he’d probably come in his trousers within minutes.

When Arthur pulled back his eyes were focused intently on Merlin and his mouth was red and damp from the kiss. The sight of him was possibly the most beautiful thing that Merlin had ever seen.

“I dare you to kiss Merlin,” Arthur told Morgana, and Merlin would have protested if Morgana’s hand wasn’t already on his elbow, drawing him close.

The kiss must have looked quite chaste given that their lips were closed and nobody’s hands were roaming, but something sparked between them like lightning down his spine. Morgana looked wide-eyed and kissed him again, her lips slow and soft but leaving tingles everywhere they touched.

They both pulled away and Merlin wondered if he looked as shocked as Morgana did.

“That was barely a kiss,” Arthur protested, “you made me. Well.” He gestured in the air between himself and Merlin in a way that could have meant anything.

Morgana visibly gathered her composure together. “Merlin must be special,” she said with the bravado that had taunted Arthur to look behind the screen, “because that was a little bit magic.”

Arthur scowled at her.

“If nobody else has a question,” Morgana said, without really giving anyone an opportunity, “then I do. Would you rather kiss Merlin or Arthur, Gwen?”

“I’m not answering that,” Gwen said, looking flustered, and Merlin saw Morgana smile.

“Then I dare you to kiss Arthur,” said Morgana.

“No, that’s not fair!” Arthur interjected. “She shouldn’t do anything she doesn’t want. She’s your servant, Morgana, you don’t get to force her to - ”

“Everyone else has done it!” Morgana said hotly.

“That’s different because-”

“It’s all right,” Gwen said and then raised her voice. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“If you don’t want to then don’t,” Arthur said stubbornly.

“It’s not that. I mean, I. I really don’t mind,” Gwen said, glancing away. “Who wouldn’t like a chance to kiss the Prince? Though it’s not just because you’re the Prince. I like you for-”

Arthur smiled at her and Gwen’s babble faded into silence.

“Well,” he said, uncertain around Gwen in a way he hadn’t been at all with Merlin. “Shall we?”

They both leaned forwards, not quite enough to reach across the centre of the bed, and then Gwen shifted closer, her eyes fixed on Arthur. Merlin saw Arthur lay a hand on her shoulderblade and then kiss her very gently, noticed how Arthur’s body language softened. It was nothing like the kiss with Merlin, but maybe no less intense for that.

When Gwen sat back she was trying to stifle a smile and Merlin caught a similar expression on Morgana’s face. This must have been what Morgana planned, he decided. Arthur and Gwen. Who’d have thought it?

There was a moment of quiet as they watched each other, all trying to judge the mood. It felt as though they’d reached the tipping point where everyone could go off to bed and call it a prank, or two more kisses would complete the circle. The tension was building and Merlin could almost feel the desire in the air between them.

Merlin didn’t think two more kisses could be just a joke or a gesture; it would be something else. Something more.

“Shall we complete the set?” Morgana asked, turning to Arthur. “For the sake of symmetry.”

Arthur frowned at her. “Fine,” he said, after a moment, and leaned in to peck her cheek.

“That doesn’t count,” Morgana said bossily, dropping a kiss on the side of Arthur’s neck. Merlin heard Arthur sigh theatrically before kissing her again, this time brushing the corner of her mouth.

“Merlin,” Morgana said, as she straightened up, “you and Gwen haven’t.”

Merlin had been hoping nobody would notice that because, well, he and Gwen sort of did kiss when he’d first moved to Camelot. It hadn’t turned out like that between them, but he’d fancied her for a while and at the time he thought that she’d felt similarly. Now things had subsided into a friendship that he valued and didn’t want to mess up.

“I will if you will,” Merlin said neutrally, glancing at Gwen.

“I will, then,” she said, and curled an arm round his back as their bodies met, her cheek soft against his own.

He felt Gwen’s nose run up his throat and then her mouth, her lips barely parted and hot against his skin, and suddenly Merlin wanted to press her back against the sheets. Everything rushed back - the fantasies of stroking his fingers over Gwen’s breast, of trailing his lips down the inside of her thigh as she lay back against the sunlit grass. But this wasn’t sunlit grass - this was Arthur’s bed with both Arthur and Morgana in it.

Merlin pulled away with a start and saw the rise and fall of Gwen’s bosom, a little breathless from the kiss. Her pupils were very dark and he thought she’d liked it every bit as much as he did.

“Um,” Gwen said, looking from Merlin to Morgana to Arthur. “I mean, we don’t necessarily have to stop. Obviously if anyone wants to stop then we should but if not, then-”

“What are you talking about?” Arthur interrupted.

“She’s talking about us all getting it on in your bed,” Morgana said.

“I’m game,” Merlin said, before he lost his nerve.

Arthur looked like a hunted deer, wavering between fleeing and standing his ground. Merlin wondered what Uther or Gaius would make of this, and if that concern about other people’s reactions was stopping Arthur.

He watched Arthur raise the bag of wine and gulp down the last few mouthfuls.

“Fuck it,” Arthur said, leaning in suddenly to kiss Gwen again and then turning to kiss Merlin in a messy scramble. Everyone shifted on the bed, the mattress rocking beneath them and Merlin felt a hand on his chest, which he thought was Gwen’s. There was a tingle where Morgana’s hand slipped under his neckerchief, untangling it and tracing her hands and mouth over his skin.

It was hard to keep track of the touches, Morgana’s fingers playing on Gwen’s ankle, Arthur’s hand in the small of Gwen’s back while Merlin kissed her. Merlin wanted more contact, more skin, but it seemed impossible to co-ordinate everything and they ended up with Arthur’s hand beneath Gwen’s skirt as Merlin fumbled with the laces of Arthur’s trousers. His task would have been easier if Merlin weren’t distracted by the way Morgana’s hands slid over his and Gwen’s nipples as if glorying in the contrast between them, but he wasn’t going to complain.

Arthur arched up into Merlin’s mouth, Gwen writhing against Arthur’s fingers, and Merlin saw the brightness in Morgana’s eyes as she watched them and devised her plans for whatever would be next.

Merlin caught her eye and wondered what it would be like to touch her more intimately, whether the magic would ebb and flow between them and whether the others would sense it. In that moment, he thought that if he and Morgana completed the circle then the power would flow through them like lightning, but that might be okay. There were some things you regretted in the morning and others that permanently changed your life for the better, but Merlin knew that it could be hard to tell them apart.

They’d been saving each other’s lives a lot, he and Arthur, and sometimes the girls too, so perhaps it was time for something different between them. Time for the magic to stop being a secret; time for them all to build a life together - a prospect that was weird, wonderful and more than a little bit terrifying. Merlin watched the girls move together, Morgana nuzzling the skin of Gwen’s neck, and wondered if the dreams had shown her what their future looked like.


End file.
